Foreign Hacker Compromised Epstein Files Held By FBI: Reuters

The hack occurred after a server at the Child Exploitation Forensic Lab in the FBI’s New York Field Office was inadvertently left vulnerable by an agent.

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - A foreign hacker compromised files relating to the FBI’s investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a break-in at the bureau’s New York Field Office three years ago, according to a source familiar with the matter and recently published Justice Department documents reviewed by Reuters.

The details of who accessed a server at the FBI’s New York Field Office, including the allegation that a foreign hacker was involved, are being reported here for the first time.

In a statement, the FBI said what it described as a “cyber incident” was “an isolated one.”

“The FBI restricted access to the malicious actor and rectified the network. The investigation remains ongoing, so we do not have further comments to provide at this time.” Although the source said the intrusion appeared to have been carried out by a cybercriminal rather than a foreign government, the incident underscores the files’ potential intelligence value, one academic said.

The legally mandated publication of U.S. Justice Department documents has exposed the dead financier’s ties to prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business, triggering investigations in countries around the world.